TV women journos look for love, not scoops
While some characters’ stories stand the test of time, others follow sexist tropes
Classic female reporters such as Lois Lane, Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday and comics character Brenda Starr were wisecracking gals full of chutzpah who could handle breaking news just fine, thank you very much. But these days, in works like Trainwreck and House of Cards, it’s more likely that onscreen lady journalists will be wrapped up in love connections than pounding the pavement.
NBC’s new sitcom Great News, may change this. It stars Briga Heelan as a TV news producer hoping for more responsibility at work and Andrea Martin as her mother who decides she wants a gig at the news station, too. Given that the show was created by 30 Rockalum Tracey Wigfield and counts Tina Fey as one of its executive producers, there’s hope it can break the stereotype and show that it’s possible to be quirky and good at your job tracking down stories.
In the meantime, we’ve analyzed other examples of the best and the worst of the beat and rate them for respectability out of 10.
Mary Richards The Mary Tyler Moore Show (19701977) Rating: 9 Many a think piece has been written about Mary Richards as a feminist icon, especially after Mary Tyler Moore’s passing earlier this year. She asks for equal pay and leaves her fiancé when she knows they’d never make it to the altar. Plus, she’s a capable journalist, struggling with issues that real news reporters face, such as contempt of court charges and conflicts of interest.
Bailey Quarters WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-1982) Rating: 2 It’s Loni Anderson’s Jennifer Marlowe, the radio station secretary on this CBS sitcom, who holds up as a powerful female role model. Comparatively, aspiring journalist Bailey, played by Jan Smithers, is meek. Bailey finally gets a chance at a real story — the budget crisis at a children’s hospital — in Season 4, and she fabricates a source in a rough draft (which, naturally, makes it to air with hilarious results).
Murphy Brown Murphy Brown (1988-1998) Rating: 10 Multi-Emmy winner Bergen’s seasoned investigative journalist and news anchor picks up Mary Richards’ empowerment baton. A character just as accomplished as any man in the field (and possibly just as damaged; she’s also a recovering alcoholic and smoker), Murphy (Candice Bergen) has no qualms about taking on everyone from real-life politicians to the multitude of secretaries who couldn’t keep up with her demands.
Lois Lane Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997) Rating: 10 Many an actress has donned the press pass of this ink-stained idol, who holds her own against mildmannered co-worker Clark Kent. What’s great about ABC’s Lois & Clark is that, by the very nature of its title, Lois (Teri Hatcher) is thought of as an equal to Dean Cain’s Man of Steel (or at least his alter ego). In the final season, she gets promoted to editor of the Daily Planet, making her Clark’s boss.
Rory Gilmore Gilmore Girls (2000-2007, 2016) Rating: 4 In the show’s original run, Rory (Alexis Bledel) is editor of her college newspaper and prophetic enough to cover Barack Obama’s campaign. But Rory gets cocky somewhere between the series ending and Netflix’s fourepisode revival. After she has a small piece in the New Yorker, she doesn’t bother to prepare for job interviews, is fine sleeping with a source and believes her mere presence is enough to make her tiny city journal thrive.
Betty Suarez Ugly Betty (2006-2010) Rating: 9 ABC’s telenovela about an unfashionable fish thrust into a tank of gleaming mermaids isn’t perfect. But Betty (America Ferrera) breaks down stereotypes about how a women’s magazine staffer looks, thinks and dresses. Even better: the series doesn’t end with Betty partnered off with her fancy male boss.
Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) State of Play (2009) Rating: 10 Rachel McAdams’ intrepid reporter may not be as seasoned as Russell Crowe’s Cal McAffrey when she’s brought on to assist in his research of a suspicious death. But she should not be trifled with just because she’s spent most of her career blogging and she proves it by seeking out her own leads in the case.
MacKenzie McHale, Maggie Jordan and Sloan Sabbith The Newsroom (2012-2014) Rating: 6 Few things irked the fans of Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show more than his depiction of female journalists. MacKenzie (Emily Mortimer) deeply wants to legitimize her show, but she gets derailed by something as innocuous as her Wikipedia page listing the wrong alma mater. Maggie (Alison Pill) encounters some serious demons, but her distractions are more frequently love-life related. That leaves Olivia Munn’s financial whiz, Sloan, who can explain the subprime mortgage crisis and has no fear of questioning authority.
Zoe Barnes House of Cards (2013-present) Rating: 1 Although Zoe (Kate Mara) is enterprising enough to seize an opportunity when presented, she is too gullible for the job. Zoe is a cautionary tale for covering the murky political world: don’t sleep with a source and don’t hide information about a potential murder from your teammates. And if you do those things? Don’t meet said unscrupulous source late at night at a subway stop.
Amy Trainwreck (2015) Rating: 3 Star and writer Amy Schumer’s 2015 flick is great when it comes to its profeminism thoughts on sex and relationships. But the plot line about a magazine writer who falls for the doctor she’s profiling (Bill Hader) continues the tired trope of female journalists shagging their sources.